Sunshine Valley homeowners in limbo after 2011 mudslide

Christopher Reynolds, Vancouver Sun11.13.2012

Ruben and Estrella Benbaruj, both 84, have been waiting more than a year for government compensation after a landslide devastated a cabin they own in Sunshine Valley, southeast of Hope.Ian Lindsay
/ PNG

Ruben and Estrella Benbaruj, both 84, have been waiting more than a year for government compensation after a landslide devastated a cabin they own in Sunshine Valley, southeast of Hope.Ian Lindsay
/ PNG

Homeowners in Sunshine Valley say they have not been fairly compensated after a massive mudslide devastated their properties in May 2011 — and now they worry a rezoning will render their properties virtually worthless.

The Fraser Valley Regional District announced last month it is planning to rezone the properties in the community southeast of Hope as “restricted development” — meaning the residences cannot be renovated or repaired and the owners will not be permitted to stay overnight due to landslide risks.

The rezoning would affect four of five properties damaged or destroyed by the landslide. The homeowners acknowledge the restrictions are necessary, but say they are entitled to compensation for land the government designated residential more than 30 years ago.

“I didn’t believe it would happen. But the government gave permission to build those chalets so people could live there. If the government knew it was a bad place, it should not have put it for sale,” said Estrella Benbaruj. “This is what is bothering me. And because of that, they should be responsible for it.”

She and her husband Ruben, both 84, bought their small Sunshine Valley chalet in 1975. “We had a little lake, we used to enjoy that. And we used to spend the winter nights there, it was wonderful. And now we’ve spent the whole year without it because they cordoned it off, saying it was unsafe to go in there,” she said.

Benbaruj said either the province or the district owes them money now that their vacation cabin, which with the lot was valued at about $200,000 before the mudslide, is appraised at less than $30,000.

The properties — located at the foot of a mountain — were residentially zoned in 1971. On May 27, 2011, boulders, trees and debris tumbled down the slopes, devastating the five properties and temporarily trapping one woman inside her home.

“It was so scary and frightening and I really thought that I was going to die. It’s a miracle from the Lord that I’m still alive,” said Liberty Melo, who was in the cabin of her partner Robert Ross when the landslide struck.

Ross — whose cabin was his primary home — was the only homeowner who received compensation from Emergency Management B.C.’s disaster financial assistance program, although three others applied. Home insurance in B.C. does not cover mudslides.

“We got a third of the value of the place, and they said we were fortunate to get that, but it was all Crown land that destroyed it in the first place,” Ross said.

The 65-year-old retiree, who said he received around $51,000 in assistance, noted that because the soil that rolled onto his property originated on the mountain — Crown land — the province should bear full responsibility.

“EMBC has provided everything within the Emergency Program Act’s legislated authority, including direct assistance to the regional district for emergency response costs, funding for geotechnical risk assessment reports, disaster financial assistance where eligible and emergency management advice and consultation,” he said.

That the province is prepared to fund the regional district in demolishing the chalets and removing debris — still strewn across the properties — comes as cold comfort to homeowners who feel they deserve compensation for properties whose tax and insurance they continue to pay but whose residential value has collapsed.

“The regional district wants to know if we give them the right to clean up the property,” said Jim Benbaruj, Estrella and Ruben’s son, who has been in touch with various government authorities about the state of the properties. “I don’t really know what to do. If we get them to clean it up ... then what happens to the property owners after that? The regional district and the Ministry (of Transportation) and EMBC can just say fine, we’ve done our thing, there’s no visible scar here. And you’re left with these properties that have very little value. Nobody would want to buy them.”

Three property owners have so far agreed to have their land cleared and cabins demolished.

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Sunshine Valley homeowners in limbo after 2011 mudslide

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